Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Don't marinate longer than 24 hours or the acid will make chicken mushy. Fresh pineapple contains enzymes that tenderize meat - use within 2 hours or use canned. Soak wooden skewers to prevent burning. The glaze should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Teriyaki is both a cooking technique and a flavor profile from Japanese cuisine, with the word derived from two Japanese terms: teri (照り), meaning luster or gloss, and yaki (焼き), meaning to grill or broil. The technique involves glazing protein with a mixture of soy sauce, mirin (a sweet rice wine), and sugar during cooking, creating a lacquered, glossy surface through caramelization. The method is documented in Japanese culinary texts from the Edo Period (1603–1868), when soy-and-mirin-based sauces became standardized in Japanese cooking. Teriyaki was brought to the United States through Japanese immigration and became a component of Japanese-American cooking on the West Coast; the Pacific Northwest, with its large Japanese-American community, developed teriyaki as a regional specialty by the mid-20th century. Seattle in particular became known for Japanese-American teriyaki restaurants from the 1970s onward. The addition of pineapple to teriyaki preparations is a Hawaiian-American adaptation — Hawaii's Japanese-American community, which arrived as plantation workers in the late 19th century, combined Japanese soy-based sauces with the tropical fruit abundantly available on the islands. Pineapple's bromelain enzyme also tenderizes chicken, providing a practical benefit alongside its sweetness.